Business wise, upgrades in software aren't necessarily prompted by a pop up, because software can become obsolete due to competition offering extra features, more power or a better customer service, so the business would have to upgrade to the other option. It can also be caused by lack of tech assistance from the provider or security problems. Because software is created by people, there will be some human error aspects in the coding used to make the software. These error often make computer programs have bugs, these can be hard or easy to find but regardless should be dealt with by the creator within 2-4 weeks. These mini updates are called patches often come out with more features but can take the user a whole to download. Of course there are pros upgrading software such as:
- Better security and more reliable:
With any software there could be weak spots to be exploited, especially in beta versions of software. This can make updating the software worth while to improve security.
- Bug fixes/patches:
Updated versions of software can have bug fixes or patches (as previously mentioned) that will clear any problems that were in the previous version and updating will mean getting rid of these problems.
- New features being added to the later versions:
New features are an obvious pro to upgrading software, they can allow the user to do their job better or have a better experience in general.
- User interface:
People that have problems with navigating may be willing to update their software if they thought it made the program easier to use.
- Less lag/smoother running:
An update can cause the program to run faster, this can be because the software is relying less on the hardware and would take less room up in memory on a hard drive
However, upgrading software can have cons such as:
- Waste of time/money
If you were running a business you would have to waste time and money training staff to use new software in order to carry out their job.
- Downtime
In business terms, there could be a downtime where the business isn't operating, which means there could be money or even contracts lost by not meeting delivery/manufacturing times.
- The new software could be less compatible with the OS
Less compatibility with the users operating system could make the new update slower than the last one and make the users experience worse. The software can also take more space on the computer in memory which would make it run slower.
- Decreased stability with newer, less tried and tested versions
Sometimes software can be released too early and no testing will have been done on it, this could mean that the software affects your computer and cause it to crash.
- User interface
The opposite to people that have difficulty operating a certain peice of software, there will be people that can and use the software everyday. A change in layout could mean that this person will take longer to carry out tasks and become very inefficient as well as fustrated.
In general all updates will have pros and cons because they are made by humans and we aren't perfect, however if the update has a con generally the creator will fix it with no charge and these are normally carried out promptly (depending on the severity of the problem). If you were still weary about upgrading you could hold off from upgrading the software until you see reviews of it and make an informed decision after.
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